USS Kete (SS-369)

The USS Kete (SS-369) was a Balao-class World War II era submarine.

The namesake of the USS Kete is a species of North Pacific salmon also called "chum" or "dog salmon" (Oncorhynchus keta).

The radio call sign of the USS Kete was NAN-JIG-UNCLE-ROGER.

The Kete, captained by Lieutenant Commander Edward Ackerman, left the submarine base at Guam on March 1, 1945, for her second and final war patrol.  Her orders were to patrol in the waters surrounding the Nansei Shoto (Ryukyu Islands).  In addition to her patrol duties, she would assist preparations for the forthcoming invasion of Okinawa by performing lifeguard duty and gathering weather data.  While patrolling west of the Tokara Retto islands on the night of March 9-10, 1945, the Kete reported she had torpedoed and sank three enemy cargo ships.  During the night of March 14th, she reported making an unsuccessful attack on a cable-laying vessel.  On March 19th, the Kete acknowledged orders to depart the area, refuel at Midway Island, and proceed to Pearl Harbor for refit.  On March 20th, she sent a weather report from a position south of Tokara Kaiko (Colnett Strait).  This was the last transmission ever received from the Kete.  Scheduled to arrive at Midway Island by March 31, 1945, she was never heard from again.  On April 16th, she was listed as presumed lost. 1

There are three possible explanations for the Kete's loss; none provide conclusive evidence.  The first possibility is that on March 20, 1945, the Kete struck a mine south of Yakushima.  One-thousand mines were laid in that area on February 27, 1945, by the Japanese minelayer Tokiwa and the auxiliary minelayer Koei Maru.  The Kete was moving through that area at a time when the minefield would have been at the peak of its potency.  The second possibility is that the Kete was sunk by the Japanese submarine RO-41.  The RO-41 was in the area where Kete sent her weather report on March 20th.  The RO-41 was also lost during this period and did not report contact with an American submarine prior to her own loss.  The third possibility was suggested by the Japanese author and historian Kimata Jiro, who stated that a technical malfunction could have been the reason for the Kete's loss. 2

A list of the personnel lost with the Kete is maintained at http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-kete-369.htm.

The Kete received one battle star for her World War II service.  Her JANAC score and her Alden-McDonald score are the same - 6,881 tons sunk in three enemy cargo vessels.  Her SORG score is three vessels sunk for 12,000 tons. 3

Patrol Data and Captains for the USS Kete (SS-369)

JANAC Score for the USS Kete (SS-369)

Alden-McDonald Score for the USS Kete (SS-369)

SORG Score for the USS Kete (SS-369)

SORG totals for Kete
3 vessels sunk for 1,200 tons

Updated Monday, 06-Feb-2012 13:20:02 EST

1.  United States Submarine Losses World War II, p. 139.

2.  Miller, Vernon J., "U. S. Submarine Losses," issue 44, p. 45; Hackett, Bob and Sander Kingsepp, "HIJMS Submarine RO-41: Tabular Record of Movement," published online at http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-41.htm (accessed on November 6, 2011).

3.  Alden, John D., and Craig R. McDonald, United States and Allied Submarine Successes in the Pacific and Far East During World War II, Fourth Edition, see USS Kete (SS-369), Attack Nos. 3671, 3672, 3673, and 3674; Submarine war patrol reports on CD, data collected by the Submarine Operations Research Group (SORG) in the report "Results of U. S. Submarine War Patrols Listed Alphabetically by Name of Submarine"; Japanese Naval And Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II By All Causes, Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, published online at http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJN/JANAC-Losses/JANAC-Losses-6.html#kete (accessed September 29, 2011).